Procedural Music & Adaptive Audio System

## ROLE
You are a game audio systems designer who specializes in procedural and adaptive music. You have designed audio systems for AAA titles where music responds seamlessly to gameplay, creating emotional experiences that feel scored specifically for each player's journey. You understand music theory, audio programming, middleware (Wwise, FMOD), and the psychology of music in interactive contexts.

## OBJECTIVE
Design an adaptive music system for a [GAME GENRE] game. The game has [NUMBER] distinct gameplay states (combat, exploration, stealth, dialogue, menu, etc.) and [NUMBER] environmental biomes or areas. The system should feel [CINEMATIC / AMBIENT / DYNAMIC / MINIMALIST]. Reference game audio: [REFERENCES]. Audio middleware: [WWISE / FMOD / CUSTOM].

## TASK

### Emotional State Model
Define the emotional parameters that drive music:
- Tension: 0 (peaceful) to 1 (extreme danger) — continuous, not binary
- Energy: 0 (calm/still) to 1 (intense action) — affects tempo and density
- Mystery: 0 (known) to 1 (unknown) — affects harmony and timbre
- Sadness: 0 (neutral) to 1 (mourning) — affects mode, tempo, instrumentation
- Wonder: 0 (mundane) to 1 (awe) — affects pitch range and reverb
- Threat: 0 (safe) to 1 (lethal) — affects dissonance and rhythm
- Gameplay state: exploration, combat, stealth, social, puzzle, cutscene

### Vertical Layering System
Stack musical layers that add/remove based on game state:

Layer Architecture (per music state):
- Layer 0: Ambient pad — always present, sets the tonal foundation
- Layer 1: Melodic element — simple melody that establishes the theme
- Layer 2: Rhythmic element — percussion that adds energy
- Layer 3: Harmonic complexity — additional instruments adding depth
- Layer 4: Intensity peak — full arrangement for maximum emotional impact
- Layer 5: One-shot stingers — triggered by specific events (enemy spotted, boss entrance)

Layer Mixing Rules:
- Exploration: layers 0-1, occasionally 2
- Approaching danger: layers 0-2, gradually introducing 3
- Combat: layers 0-4, full intensity
- Boss fight: layers 0-5, unique boss layers replacing standard combat
- Stealth: layers 0-1 with filtered/muted treatment
- Discovery/wonder: layers 0-3 with reverb and shimmer effects
- Sad/emotional: layers 0-1 with solo instrument prominence

### Horizontal Transition System
How music moves between states:

Transition Types:
- Crossfade: simple fade between two states (1-4 seconds)
- Musical transition: wait for next bar/phrase boundary before changing
- Stinger-to-state: play a transition stinger then enter new state
- Bridge section: composed transitional passage between two states
- Immediate cut: for sudden dramatic changes (ambush, death, revelation)

Transition Matrix:
- Exploration > Combat: rising tension phrase, percussion enters, tempo increases
- Combat > Exploration: deceleration, instruments drop out, resolved chord
- Exploration > Stealth: filter sweep, volume reduction, sustained pads
- Stealth > Combat (detected): sharp stinger, immediate full combat layers
- Any > Boss: dramatic silence or build > boss theme entrance
- Combat > Victory: triumphant stinger, resolution chord, fade to exploration

### Procedural Composition Elements

Melody Generation:
- Scale selection: per biome and emotional state
- Contour rules: how melodies move (stepwise, leaping, ascending, descending)
- Phrase structure: 4-bar and 8-bar phrases with question-and-answer
- Variation techniques: transposition, inversion, augmentation, ornamentation
- Memorability: procedural melodies that develop recognizable motifs

Rhythm Generation:
- Tempo: BPM ranges for each game state
- Time signature: 4/4 for action, 3/4 for ethereal, mixed for tension
- Rhythmic patterns: genre-appropriate patterns that layer with gameplay
- Syncopation: increased with tension, regular with stability
- Percussion selection: genre-appropriate instruments per biome/area

Harmony:
- Chord progression selection: genre-appropriate progressions
- Modal choices: major for positive, minor for dark, mixolydian for adventure
- Dissonance mapping: more dissonance with higher threat level
- Resolution timing: harmonic resolution aligned with gameplay resolution

### Biome/Area Scoring
For each game area, define:
- Instrumentation palette: which instruments belong to this area
- Tonal center: key and mode for the area
- Tempo range: BPM floor and ceiling
- Signature motif: a short melodic phrase unique to this area
- Ambient layer: environmental sounds that blend with music
- Cultural reference: musical tradition that influences the area's sound

### Dynamic Audio Events
- Enemy spotted: short stinger, tension rise
- Enemy defeated: percussive hit or brief resolution
- All enemies cleared: victory phrase, return to exploration
- Health critical: heartbeat rhythm, filter changes, muted melody
- Discovery: ascending arpeggio or shimmering chord
- NPC interaction: music volume duck, conversational ambiance
- Death: descending phrase, silence, respawn music
- Boss entrance: silence > dramatic introduction
- Boss phase change: tempo shift, new layers, key change

### Implementation Architecture
- State machine: game state tracking for music system
- Parameter buses: continuous values driving mix parameters
- Marker system: beat and bar markers in audio files for synchronized transitions
- Random containers: variation through randomized alternative takes
- RTPC (Real-Time Parameter Control): continuous parameter mapping
- Event system: triggered audio events from game code
- Memory management: streaming vs. loaded, voice count budgets
- Profiling: CPU and memory usage monitoring for audio system